Showing posts with label Ozarks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ozarks. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Home is Where the Heart Is

I haven't lived in the Ozarks of Missouri in 11 years but I left a part of my heart there and it will remain as long as I have my memory. Here are a few of the places that we visited that are dear to me:

Davis Creek Church: the church I attended with my siblings as children and later as adults with our children. This is where my parents were married and where my aunt attended her first day of school.



Grandpa's barn: of course it doesn't look quite the same as it did when full of hay and where I would visit with Grandma and watch while she milked the cow.






Grandpa's shop: where ALLL the grandkids learned to work on our bikes, where we took our bikes for Grandpa to fix flats, where all the girls were determined to sweep up all the grime on the floor. Grandpa's shop was where Grandpa could always be found. There is still a path that leads from the front door of the house to the shop.



Just one of the ponds on Grandpa's place: where all the cousins could be found fishing with cane poles. I am not a fan of fishing, but even I caught many fish using Grandpa's cane poles in his ponds. When we were little the only pond we were allowed to play near was the one behind the shop, closest to where Grandpa could keep an eye on us. As we grew up we could be found more at the distant ponds like this one that were out of eye and ear shot of the grandparents and parents.



This is all that's left of Grandpa's sawmill, where he earned much of his living. Grandpa was a jack of all trades, from logger, to grading roads. When playing at Grandpa's we always found our way to the huge sawdust pile.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Cotter, AR

Last week my family and I traveled to West Plains, MO to spend a week of vacation with my extended family. We stayed with my mom and step dad in the home where I was raised. Trips back home always bring back so many childhood memories! I love the Ozarks and find beauty in so many places so close to Mom's home.

Mom and I made many plans for places to see throughout the week. She and I have long loved to take walks, enjoy nature, and of course take photos!

We arrived on Saturday with a big family get-together on Saturday night (photos and post to come soon!). Sunday most of the family decided to join us to travel to Boxley Valley, Arkansas. Mom had told me of a valley where she had hiked to a waterfall and watched elk. She thought it would be beautiful with the fall leaves turning colors. She was so right!

On the drive to Boxley, not far into our journey, we stopped just outside Cotter, AR to enjoy a pretty view. We all decided to take a closer look and drove down to the bridge we could see. My sister and her husband knew the area well and led the way.







We ventured up onto the train tracks for more photos...


.....and then down the tracks to the tunnel we could see in the distance. Of course not one of us was brave enough to cross the bridge so we climbed back down, drove back across the river to a campground where my sister Regina knew the way to the tunnel on the other side.


My daughter Heather and my husband Marty:




The view from inside the tunnel:



Silhouette of my mom:








Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Blanchard Springs, AR

One of my favorite places to visit on trips back home is Blanchard Springs, AR. I enjoy the caverns and I especially enjoy the beauty of Mirror Lake:









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